Maha-Vidya * Vaidurya * The Cloud of Unknowing * The Great Dispersion * The Distant Witness

"There was no ego, no
real world—only when one looked through the im­mobile senses, something
perceived or bore upon its sheer silence a world of empty forms,
materialised shadows without true substance. There was no One or many even,
only just absolutely That, featureless, relationless, sheer, indescribable,
unthinkable, absolute, yet supremely real and solely real. This was no
mental realisation nor something glimpsed somewhere above,—no
abstraction,—it was positive, the only positive reality,—al­though not a
spatial physical world, pervading, occupying or rather flood­ing and
drowning this semblance of a physical world, leaving no room or space for
any reality but itself, allowing nothing else to seem at all actual,
positive or substantial. I cannot say there was anything exhilarating or
rap­turous in the experience . . . but what it brought was an inexpressible
Peace, a stupendous silence, an infinity of release and freedom."

Ketu in
classroom-1 * wanders from the fleshly container, disperses coherently unique identity, ambivalent
toward the power of muscular movement, absent from embodiment,
other-defined chameleon, irrelevance of the
personality

Ketu in
classroom-2 * wanders from the preserved values, disperses family-knowledge-treasury collections,
absent from lineage history, irrelevance of the
mouth, the foods, and the
stored goods; disregards conventional
boundaries of speech-language

"You know, sometimes books of
fantasy like Education of Oversoul Seven can be a
very wondrous way to explain the inexplicable.

Because, truly one cannot explain to the logical third-dimensional mind
how it happens, because in the logical mind everything must be in a box.

And of course other dimensional realities do not exist in the framework of
the box, so it becomes very difficult to portray a reality in a way that is
not confined, that does not conform to
even the physics of third-dimensional material reality.

So we would say
that writings like this are a most wondrous way to kind of portray the
limitlessness of life after death or life
in the realm beyond this one.

Of course, there are many, many realms
beyond this one, but when speaking of the steps that occur before and after
life, we would say this is a very good representation."

There is no "-ness " in emptiness

Om shram shreem shroum sah ketave namah

Professor Ketu represents dispersing agents
and desaparacidos who lose their apparent
form and vanish into other realities. They are
unsettling ghosts who lack permanent integrity. They
disregard all formalities.

Ketu-figures are particulate in nature, assuming no
coherent form. They swirl like a dusty wind. They
flap in the air like a tattered flag, signaling
abandonment and impermanence. They are headless,
following no direction.

The Great Destroyer Comet of lore, whose massive tail sweeps through
worlds delivering a scattering, fragmenting, dispersing Wind, is
represented by Professor Ketu.

Interpretive Considerations

In making judgments re: the impact of Professor Ketu, prioritize the significations of Rahu-Ketu's BHAVA position.

Rahu-Ketu's position byBhava is much more influential than the
nodal placements by RASHI.

In rashi, Rahu-Ketu's primarily give the effects of their
rashi rulers, and of any co-tenant planets which share their
bhava.

Bhagavad Gita,
shloka-19, Ch-12

tulyanindaastutirmauni santushto yena kenachita |

aniketaha
sthiramatirbhaktimaanme priyo naraha ||

To whom praise and
insult are same, who is silent, content with all circumstances, who is
without a fixed home, with neutral mind, a person who loves me in this way
is cherished by me.

SEVA opportunities to improve Ketu effects

During any Ketu period, whether a long period or a short
period, or as support for an enduring Ketu transit, Seva
may be offered on behalf of those who have in some way
become disconnected. Their disconnection may be physical
(via amputation) or social (via being cut off from
public approval) or emotional (via trauma) or spiritual
(via ignorance or superstition).

Generally,
Ketu-influenced people cannot or do not wish to retain a
fixed social identity, reserves of material goods, or
elite hierarchical status. They are either
unintentionally dispossessed such as refugees, or intentionally
dispossessed such as pilgrims and travelers. Therefore
for example, a suitable Seva could be travelers aid or
service to those doing pilgrimage.

However even more
intense and thus often more satisfying could be service
offered to the uprooted, unprotected victims of human
trafficking or those vulnerable populations who may be
socially disregarded (Ketu).

The above quote was spoken by a woman who had achieved the
pinnacle of career success at an early phase of her life, including a
model's body, well-placed friends, and a substantial economic position. She
had married strategically, but liked her husband as a friend and business
partner. Her parents praised her and boasted about her. She awoke before
dawn to continue improving herself, taking classes, working, and
socializing. She accepted more and more tasks and activities into her
schedule, raising expectations after every success. And then she collapsed.

"My well-meaning family had me hospitalized for exhaustion," she
recounted. "But I did not need medical treatment because I did not have
a physical illness. I was in excellent shape from continuous exercise
classes. All I did in the hospital was sleep."

When she returned home
from a brief hospital stay, this bright and accomplished woman, a globally
travelled, reflective and insightful thinker, realized what had happened.

Whether consciously or not, she
had experienced an unsustainable social-material stress load, and when that
load exceeded her capacity, her Circuit Breaker
responded with a cut-off of energy to the system.

Ketu is a Circuit
Breaker. When the system is overloaded with mental, emotional, financial,
social, marital, intellectual, philosophical, doctrinal, and physical
transactions, Professor Ketu cuts the flow of
fuel delivery.

Circuit-breaker Ketu is the great stress-reliever. He acts
decisively to cut when
cutting is essential to survival. (cis = cut, as in incisor,
scissor)

The substance, idea, person, relationship, entity, or
social role that is surrendered during the Ketu period
is by definition spiritually unnecessary.

The cut-thing has outlived its usefulness and it has lost its vitality
Maintaining this enervated phenomenon (whatever it is) is costing too much
energy within the life system. Thus it is scheduled for
release at the appointed time.

Examples of things to be released include experiences
from other lives which have expired in their relevance
to the current life, outdated relationships that no
longer match the authentic life-force energy of the
native, parts of the body that may be holding genetic
memories that are scheduled for release (hair, teeth,
appendix, sometimes other limbs or organs) and other
similar scenarios.

Dissociating Ketu is Rahu's tail. Ketu is
dried and lifeless. He flutters in the ethers
like a flag in the wind. His symbol is a tattered flag.

Therefore Ketu periods are
often associated with the cutting-off of some
desiccated appendage. Along with
Professor Mangala, Ketu is the co-ruler of
transformative randhra-bhava-8. After releasing the
unnecessary form, one often begins a path toward
rejuvenation.

Because Ketu is not a respecter of boundaries, rules, or material forms, the
vacancies created by the Vasana-karaka can create opportunities for
predators.

One may be inadvertently or apathetically used or
manipulated by
the agents of Ketu's bhava in order to further their own agenda. In matters
of His own bhava of residence, Professor Ketu has no opinion. He teaches
only abandonment and surrender.

Ketu in Bhava-1
* predation by more focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of
personal identity. Because Rahu occupies
bhava-7, the identity tends to be defined by an external Other, usually a
marriage partner.

Ketu in Bhava-2 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of second marriage,
treasuries, historical-linguistic knowledge, speech-song,
storage-preservation, and fleshdeath. Because Rahu occupies
bhava-8, the access to assets tends to be
controlled by an external Other, usually a secretive, undisclosed agency; possibly the marital
in-laws (Rahu in 2nd-from-7).

POTUS-pair-02 Letters 1744-1818 Abigail Adams
* Shani-yuti-Ketu
* did not control the knowledge or treasury and her own family genetics
were disoriented (alcoholism); Others of undisclosed identity (Rahu-8) provided
the assets. Despite a likely frustration with the first marriage,
insufficient motive to produce a second marriage.

POTUS-pair-42 + USA Secy State 1947-Hillary Clinton
+
Guru-yuti-Ketu
* did not control the knowledge or treasury and her own family genetics
were disoriented (mental); Others of undisclosed identity (Rahu-8) provided the
assets. Despite a likely frustration with the first marriage,
insufficient motive to produce a second marriage.

POTUS-pair-44 Let's Move 1964-Michelle Robinson Obama
*
Ketu-yuti-Budha
* did not control the knowledge or treasury and her own family genetics
were disoriented (disease); Others of undisclosed identity (Rahu-8) provided the
assets. Despite a likely frustration with the first marriage,
insufficient motive to produce a second marriage.

Ketu in Bhava-3 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of commerce,
media-messaging, evangelism, publishing, management, hand-craft, ensemble,
team, and cohort. Because Rahu occupies
bhava-9, the mental process tends to be controlled by an external Other, usually a
father-figure, patron, or promoter of a paradigm of belief.

Telepathy 1880-1949Alice Bailey+
Budha-yuti-Surya
* dedicated her life first to conventional missionary evangelism, and
then to publication of the messages provided by a discarnate preaching
entity (Rahu-9).

Autobiography of a Yogi 1893-1952 SwamiYogananda
* reported (3) the messages emitting from discarnate patrons (Rahu-9)
and their earthly emissaries

Ketu in Bhava-4 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of owned
property, mother's lifestyle, root culture, vehicles, shelters, and
schooling. Because Rahu occupies
bhava-10, the ethnic belonging tends to be controlled by an external Other, usually
a government or institutional ruling edifice.

49th Nizari Ismaili Imam 1936- Agha Khan-4Karim al-Husseini
is not deeply rooted into any particular local culture. Rather, he
responds to the governing structure of Ismaili Islam (Rahu-10).

Ketu in Bhava-5 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of
politics, drama, children, creativity,
intelligence, speculative finance, games. Because Rahu occupies
bhava-11, the personal charisma tends to be controlled by an Other who is usually
in a networked organization such as a political party or an economic cartel

POTUS-43 Decision Points 1946-George W. Bush
held several key leadership positions (Texas governor, POTUS-43). Yet he
was considered a relatively weak individual politician who functioned
mainly as a familiar face; he followed the instructions of VPOTUS In My Time 1941-Dick Cheney, POTUS-41 All the Best 1924-George H.W. Bush,
and the party economic funding group (Rahu-11).

POTUS-pair-36 Wildflowers 1912-2007 Ladybird Johnson
was a financially savvy independent businesswoman but her identity was
dominated by her the political goals of her husband, POTUS-36 Great Society 1908-1973Lyndon Baines Johnson

Ketu in Bhava-6 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of
crime, betrayal, accusation, disease, debt, and disagreement. Because Rahu occupies
bhava-12, the adversarial animosity tends to be controlled by an external Other,
usually an invisible guiding agent from Other Worlds.

My Inventions 1856-1943Nikola Tesla
+ Chandra-yuti- Mangala
* Tesla did not control the mechanism of criminal prosecution. He was
aware that his adversary General Electric 1847-1931Thomas Edison
was improperly configuring the magneto-electrical grid leading to waste and
eventual collapse. Yet materially, Tesla did nothing (Rahu-12) except to write the occasional
denunciation of his enemy, complaining that Edison was a capital fool.

Ketu in Bhava-7 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of
contracts, advising, agreements, negotiations, and
alliances. Because Rahu occupies bhava-1,
the native is fascinating and opportunistic, but the partners or advisees
(7) tend to have disoriented, dissolved qualities and the direction of
alliances tends to be controlled by wandering, ungrounded
Others.

Mad Monk 1869-1916 Romanov
Grigori Rasputin + Surya-yuti-Budha*
did not control the arrangements of advising and consulting. The Romanov
family who received his advice are represented by Rasputin's weak and
disoriented Ketu-7 + the institutional Makara
Surya-yuti-Budha.
The Romanov were prone to be influenced, and mesmerizing (Rahu-1) Ras-putina did the
influencing via winding, binding Azlesa-Rahu. Yet the psychic information was freely
given, and he
did not attempt to control their behavior (Ketu-7). His wife is also represented
by this Ketu-7. As an itinerant preacher, he wandered widely (returning
only once per year for the grain harvest) yet their marriage subsisted.

Iran-Shah 1919-1980Mohamed Reza Pahlavi although very nicely decorated
in gold and jewels, the Shah was primarily a place-holder;
he had very little input into the decisions that he was required to
carry out. As a fabulous figurehead (Rahu-1) he was notoriously used by stronger
entities such as USA
and Soviet Union

Ketu in Bhava-8 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of occult truths, secrets, and
hidden empowerments. Because Rahu occupies bhava-2, these mysteries
tend to be controlled by an external Other, usually a member of the family lineage,
a banker, or a knowledge curator. Normally, bhava-8 is a beneficial placement
for psychic Ketu.

Secret Doctrine 1831-1891 TheosophyHelena Blavatsky did not control the mysterious
knowledge that she channeled. Her sources were sometimes identified as
Akashic Record-keepers (Rahu-2, databases)

POTUS-pair-37 Watergate 1912-1993Pat Ryan Nixon
* served as a confidante and holder of secret information for her
husband's political career, which was largely controlled by the monied
weapons industrialial cartels (Rahu-2 Mesha + nichha-Shani-2). Until his
paranoia got out of control, Richard Nixon depended heavily upon Pat's
ability to understand hidden patterns

Earth Changes 1877-1945Edgar Cayce
did not control the mysterious knowledge that he channeled. His sources
were sometimes identified as Akashic Record-keepers (Rahu-2, databases)

Meditations 1596-1650 logicRene Descartes
brought forth the calculus in the space of only a few years. By creating
an initiatory funnel into which he could receive inspiration, Descartes
was shown the necessary mathematics at the discretion of the Knowledge
Bankers. (Rahu-2, lineage, libraries).

Ketu in Bhava-9 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of

Ketu in Bhava-10 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of

Ketu in Bhava-11 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of
social networking, community linkages, marketplace economics, systems of all
descriptions - conceptual, electro-magnetic, social, scientific, financial,
conceptual, etc.

Ketu in Bhava-12 * predation by more
focused agents is allowed via one's own vacuum of apathy in matters of
private guidance, the marital bedroom, invisible environments, the research
laboratory

chidra-karaka Ketu by nature detaches and dissolves connections. Ketu's pulverization of coherent form is a liberating experience spiritually, albeit socially the native who is indoctrinated in the culture of lifelong exclusive marriage and other permanent contracts may try very hard to conform to the dominant paradigm.

Ketu indicates "the person or thing to be abandoned".
Ketu contains a program of dispersion and surrender.

Ketu gives tangible expression to the most contentious fulcrum-point in life which is Earth-human's perception of permanence.

Professor Ketu's teaching narrative denies the existence of permanence for unique forms; indeed Ketu denies the existence of permanent existence. From Ketu's perspective, forms cohere and in-cohere in real time."Now you see it; now you don't."

Ketu disperses whatever form He contacts. In human fleshly relationships, Ketu nebulizes the performance-ego attachment to the contract and to the mate.

However this does not mean that Ketu never interacts with other entities.
Ketu indeed follows a two-step process of engagement and disengagement.
First, Ketu signals infatuation which is generated via Rahu's fascinating glamour. Then,
passion-of-the-fool may be followed by a static incoherence and
finally either disregard or despair.

Particularly if Ketu-yuti-Zukra or Ketu-in-jayabhava-7 or Ketu in 7th navamsha, infatuations can be extra intense, as psychologically all humans want to belong to a group. Most people find comfort in coherence with the dominant paradigm. The longing for ultimate union is embedded in the human soul. Therefore it is not surprising that after aeons of profound longing for His head Rahu, when Ketu sees the tantalizing instrument of His potential reunification tail-to-head, Ketu is best by unfulfilled longing.

According to the myth of Rahu-Ketu,
the problem is that Rahuva does not and cannot desire
No-contact Ketu.
In truth, Professor Ketu could not do His job if He were tangibly connected to Rahu. The two Nodes have separate roles in the drama. Ketu longs for Rahu; Rahu longs for power.

Ketu's infatuation experience is rich with unfulfilled (Ketu) romantic hope. The inner dialog is saying, "Ah, all those claims about impermanence are wrong! Here is my beloved, the One, my soul-mate Forever Lover. It is Right and Just! It is a permanent bond between us."

Yet, Professor Ketu is obliged to teach lessons of the reality of impermanence. Ketu's love-object is performing the role of Rahu, and thus during Ketu's infatuation the beloved must enact Rahu's dictum of disregard for the useless, lifeless, amputated tailings which are Ketu.

Following Ketu's hope-against-hope that This One Special Fated relationship is destined for coherence, Ketu rails against the universe as the ambitious beloved turns - predictably - toward objects which promise power, privilege, and entitlement. Ketu again experiences Abandonment by Rahu, followed ideally by a philosophical acknowledgement that the universes are, indeed, quite nebulous.

one may experience during Ketu events an amorphous, apathetic yet non-resistant no-barrier response to the father and father-figures, to politics and royalty, to being the center of attention , to celebrity and genius, to individual entitlements, to games and gambling. Much depends on the placement of Surya and overall condition of Simha.

one may experience during Ketu events an amorphous, apathetic yet non-resistant no-barrier response to the mother and mother-figures, to home and the homeland , to caretaking and school-teaching, habitual rhythms and
folkways, ancient customs, and established cultural norms, to nourishment and protection. Much depends on the placement of Chandra and overall condition of Karkata.

one may experience during Ketu events an amorphous, apathetic yet non-resistant no-barrier response to the brothers and brother-figures, to aggressive muscular movements, to sports and competition, to physical dominance and penetration, to innovation, to fighting. Often a great deal of martial-marching movement, but to dispersed or incoherent purposes. Much depends on the placement of Mangala and the conditions of Ketu's rashi.

one may experience during Ketu events an amorphous, apathetic yet non-resistant no-barrier response to siblings and cousins, to neighbors or workmates, to talking and gesturing, to explanations and descriptions, to media messaging and evangelism. Much depends on the placement of Budha and the condition of Ketu's rashi.

one may experience during Ketu events an amorphous, apathetic yet non-resistant no-barrier response to children and grandchildren, to professors and preachers, to patriarchal figures, to priests, to theory, to dogma and doctrinal orthodoxy. For a wife, detachment from husband. Much depends on the placement of Brihaspati and the condition of Ketu's rashi.

Ketu-Dhanuzya* no barrier against symbolism, against philosophy, against theory, against ideology, against indoctrination, against dogma

one may experience during No-contact Ketu events an amorphous, apathetic yet non-resistant no-barrier response to sweet liaisons, promises, vows, contracts and partnerships , voice and song, eyes and face, bargaining and negotiation, to arrangements and compensations, to alcohol and drugs. For a husband, detachment from wife. Much depends on the placement of Zukra and the condition of Ketu's rashi.

If Ketu's
rashi ruler =Shani, one may experience during Ketu events an amorphous, apathetic yet non-resistant no-barrier response to elders, to social duties and leadership responsibilities, to laws and regulatory agencies, to institutional structures, to the government
hierarchy. Much depends on the placement of Shani and the condition of Ketu's rashi.

Ketu-Makara * no barrier to imposition of institutional legal structure

for the duration of the present lifetime, one may be unable or unwilling to possess the qualities of the graha associated with Ketu. Cannot register any sense of completion of the actions of the graha. Ketu cannot reach it, attain it, schedule it, manage it, appropriate it; is in contempt of it; is not entitled to its fruits.

However Ketu simultaneously improves one 's spiritual capability by disabling the ego-membrane attachment to the portfolio of graha(s) with whom Ketu shares a rashi.

At higher levels of consciousness, other-worldly Ketu gives increased awareness of impermanence and a spiritual sensitivity to the desires of others

This is the root of our pain. In the world of hope and fear, we always have to change the channel, change the temperature, change the music, because something is getting uneasy, something is getting restless, something is beginning to hurt, and we keep looking for alternatives.

In a nontheistic state of mind, abandoning hope is an affirmation, the beginning of the beginning.

You could even put Abandon hope" on your refrigerator door instead of more conventional aspirations like Every day in every way I'm getting better and better.""

Ketu the Detacher is malefic for material purposes yet exceptionally beneficial for all things spiritual.

chidrakaraka Ketu = radical disconnect on the material plane. Ketu periods can make an ungrounded person so severely confused that they may be unable to maintain their job, home, or relationship. Strong Ketu makes the body highly sensitive.

Once the human 'head' is severed, telepathic and telekinetic communication channels can open.

moves which follow a scattered directional pattern are forecast during periods of Ketu

Manik Chand Jain, Rahu and Ketu in Predictive Astrology, page 82:

(BTW - I don't necessarily agree with MC Jain's description, but it is interesting to read.)

"Rahu

has the influence of Jupiter conjunction Venus .

It gives intense appreciation and respect for the area by house where Rahu is located or transiting.

There is popularity in this place with optimism and cheerfulness.

This is a lucky place.....

Ketu has the influence of a Mars conjunct Saturn.

In Ketu, too much of the Saturn accent can produce fear and hold the Mars action back.

This can give poor timing .

Mars represents energy and Saturn, a cycle of time.

With the Combination, we need to take stock of the issues involved, and do something about them.

There is an ambition for power where Ketu is located by house.

The trick is to use the energy of Mars in the right amount by the disciplining of Saturn

in an area of selfless service rather than over-possessiveness."

BPL note: I do not necessarily agree with Pt. Jain's views on the role of R-K.

In my view,

Ketu co-lord of Vrizchika = a natural partner of Kuja only in the context of
Professor Kuja's sudden-transformative-movements role

Rahu co-lord of Kumbha = a partner of Shani only in the context of
Professor Shani's associative-distributive-systems role.

Therefore I do not see Rahu much similar to benefics nor Ketu much similar to
papagraha... rather they have qualities of fascination-ambition (Rahu) and apathy-disregard (Ketu) . The karaka-qualities of R-K serve to amplify the agenda of their respective lords.

SHEDDING OLD HABITS

Pema Chödrön

Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change

page 62

"At some point, if you're fortunate, you'll hit a wall of truth and wonder what you've been doing with your life.

At that point you'll feel highly motivated to find out what frees you and helps you to be kinder and more loving, less klesha driven and confused.

At that point you'll actually want to be present - present as you go through a door, present as you take a step, present as you wash your hands or wash a dish, present to being triggered, present to simmering, present to the ebb and flow of your emotions and thoughts.

Day in and day out, you'll find that you notice sooner when you're hooked, and it will be easier to refrain.

If you continue to do this, a kind of shedding happens - a shedding of old habits, a shedding of being run around by pleasure and pain, a shedding of being held hostage by worldly concerns."

directionless and scattered.
No-contact Ketu is passive by nature and His actions display a notable disregard for consequences. Ketu is utterly ego-less; His methods are disconnecting and dispersing.

As narrated in the myth of Rahu-Ketu, Shri Ketu lost His head. Ketu is associated with Out-of-body states of consciousness, such as flying meditations, cosmic travel, trance states, and the above-body hovering behaviors of trans-medium healers.

Rahu-Ketu are a material plane-astral plane pair. During Ketu periods one's clairsentient awareness of dreams, intuitive intelligence, and the meaning of symbolic imagery will increase.

However the lightness of being (sans caput!) and general directionlessness of Ketu's influence may results in a spacey, float-y, awake-but-disengaged social presentation. the native is present but 'tuned out' of material-plane chatter while distinctively 'tuned in' to the spiritual voice.

During chidrakaraka (splitter, separator) Ketu periods, when Ketu is strong in the nativity, it may be a challenge for the native to stay grounded within the physical body. Ketu periods are splendid for meditation and psychic skill development, but material productivity will slack unless the production is explicitly psychically driven.

E.g., the native with a healing massage practice, a psychic reader, or a divinatory exponent may find that during Ketu periods their income increases proportional to the accuracy of their clairsentient insight.

Natives who practice a mystical service will generally have a strong Ketu in the Jyotisha nativity, usually in a dushthamsha 6, 8, 12 or 3 from lagna or Chandra.

"reckless disregard for consequences ".

Professor Ketu sees the interplay of all planes of existence.

For this reason, Ketu is not attached to any fixed results on any particular plane. In human material life, Ketu can be enormously frustrating because the Cauda Draconis is not in any way attached or committed to producing or maintaining results on the material plane.

However the effects of Professor Ketu are always beneficial in spiritual matters, where an ego-detached"beheaded" viewpoint typically leads to abandonment of suffering.

in modern psychological parlance, the classic style of Ketu the Wanderer might be called a"reckless disregard for consequences ".

Yet while Ketu does not assist any type of emotional bonding behavior, He alsoliberates from anxiety, fear, and bondage of guilt.

Ketuva is a splendidly helpful
upagraha in all matters of ego-detachment

aids and facilitates removal and dissipation of outdated habits, formless
awareness in meditation, and reflective spiritual
practices oriented to dissolution of unnecessary
attachments

Ketu = disconnection from the desire(Rahu) to experience perceptual reality.

Ketu imposes a state of chronic discontent, ambivalence, and dissatisfaction.

However Ketu is resigned t o this condition and takes no action to change it.

The mind is structured by infinite numbers of polarity-pairs called in
English ratio.

E.g.,

dark : light :: night : day

2:4 :: 400:800

large : small :: elephant : mouse

Most spatial ratios are common across humanity, but many socio-cultural ratios are unique to the local culture. When Ketu occupies a bhava, the ratios which normally create the rational structure of that bhava are dissolved.

For example, a normal polarity in bhava-6 = medicine: disease.

But when Ketu occupies Ari Bhava, there may be a long wandering search for medicines which match the disease; physicians may be of no avail, and the native might self-heal with no apparent method or cause.

A normal polarity in bhava-7 = two partners with matching interests or backgrounds.

But when Ketu occupies yuvati bhava, there is
an apples and oranges incommensurability or mis-match between the partners. They hail from disjoint and often incompatible backgrounds, and rarely share a common perspective. Unless another graha also occupies 7, Ketu provides little opportunity to find a point of mutual interest.

In free association mode, any object of perception can pair with any other object; there are no "natural pairs "and no rules for matching. The behavior in matters of the bhava becomes "irrational" (no ratio) = crazy.

Ketu dissolves the inherent relationships between objects of perception .

Into whichever bhava Ketu is born, Lord Sikhi causes a disconnection between the normal polarities. Inherent spatial and social relationships are disrupted by a scattering of the parts.

Thus Ketu tends to effect a dis-coherence, dis-adherence, un-adhesiveness (ungluing) or in-coherence in the structural relationships of the matters of His bhava.

Ketu in 1 shatters the conventional social-attribute-package structure. Suddenly cut off from reliable sources of identity. May produce a socially incomplete personality, which draws its life-force energy from their more flamboyant, ambitious mate = Rahu-7

Graceland 1945- drama-commercePriscilla Presley derived most of her public identity from her first marriage to famous crooner Heartbreak Hotel 1935-1977Elvis Presley .

Ketu in bhava-2 = shatters the conventional historical-storage structures. Incomplete, incoherent family history. May be suddenly cut off from one's own family, or from reliable sources of wealth. Detachment from savings, conservation, capital treasures, libraries of knowledge. Lost memories. Disconnected from food. Uncaring and disregarding of conventions regarding
what goes in the mouth. Not interested in rules about death.

Flowers of Evil 1821-1867 poetCharles Baudelaire spent his entire substantial inheritance in only a few weeks

A Room of One's Own 1882-1941Virginia Woolf was abused by her brothers while growing up, but her disconnected family (Ketu-2) did nothing (Ketu) to stop the abuse. As an adult, Ms. Woolf often forgot to eat (Ketu-2) Eventually, her Ketu-2 in combination with
Nishturabashi yoga, contributed to her developing a debilitating anorexia.

Ketu in Bhava-3 scatters the conventional mental narrative structures. Incoherent messaging;
insensible announcements. Comments are cut-off. Often a dissolution of the normal polarities in conversation.
Messages, diatribes, or transactions may seem
vacant or vague. Promulgation of "empty" statements, devoid of
content.

Apple Computer 1955-2011Steve Jobs
* 3-Guru-yuti-Ketu
Ketu-cuts-the narrative In the year that Jobs was on track to be
featured as TIME magazine's Man of the Year, the editors
interviewed the abandoned (Ketu) mother of his child, who told them of
Jobs' refusal to provide child support. The feature title was changed to
Machine of the Year (the Apple Computer) and Jobs' photo was
cut out (Ketu) of the article.

Top Gun 1962- drama-commerceTom Cruise occasionally tries to explain his convictions to the public, but the message remains misunderstood. He has Shani-Makara + Ketu in 3.

POTUS-35 Profiles in Courage 1917-1963 ,John F. Kennedy
like all Ketu-3 folk he also had Rahu-9 granting inspirational
philosophical speeches. There is some doubt however as to whether he had
full authorship (3) of his books. Ketu-3 would suggest that his Budha-1
granted the ability to write well but the final touches before
publication, perhaps significant editing, would have been porous (Ketu).
Especially considering that his wife became a professional literary
editor, sole authorship is unlikely.

Harry Potter 1965- magical-fictionJ.K. Rowling * Ketu is greatly strengthened by Mangala-Kanya-1 and by
the dual-drishti incoming from
Guru-yuti-Rahu-uttama.

Ketu in Bhava-4 shatters the conventional sheltering-protective structures. Incoherent foundations = dissolution of homeland; dispersal of the mother and her people. Unwholesome home if; disconnected from the childhood home. Incomplete or abandoned schooling. Suddenly cut off from reliable roots. Wandering.

POTUS-pair-32 Learn by Living 1884-1962Eleanor Roosevelt suffered a highly unstable early childhood due to mental illness of both parents. Eleanor attended an English girls boarding school for only one year. Although she was smart and she loved the school, and the headmistress was especially fond of her, she was forced to abandon her education at age 15 due to the ailments of her parents.

Ketu in Bhava-5 shatters the conventional independent intelligence structure. Suddenly cut off from reliable sources of creativity. Eccentric expressions of literary genius or romantic love. May produce an incoherent or aberrant child. Ambitions of Rahu-11 may be so consuming that there is not much connection with young children.

Ketu in Bhava-6 shatters the conventional medicating-problematizing structures. Suddenly cut off from reliable sources of conflict. Generally Ketu-6 helps in viewing life's problems with objectivity. Ketu-6 = a particularly supportive placement for eccentric scientists. Whilst producing a karmic requirement to encounter the conditions of debt, disease and animosity, Ketu-6 remains a dispassionate observer of these phenomena rather than a victim of them.

My Inventions 1856-1943Nikola Tesla. Until a significant deterioration at the end of his long life, Tesla's Chandra-Mangala-Ketu-6 Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder helped him to stay fixated on his advanced electrical research

Ketu in Bhava-7 shatters the conventional promise-trust structures. Suddenly cut off from the source of harmony. Incomplete or incoherent contractual relationships. Rahu-1 natives are unique, fascinating, ambitious personalities; their Ketu-7 Partner-Others are often rather shadowy background figures.

Ketu in Bhava- 8 shatters the conventional death-and-rebirth structures. Probably the best placement for Ketu because Ketu-8 dissolves the fear of death. Removes the sensibility barriers which normally block the flow of occult knowledge. Suddenly cut off from reliable sources of hidden information. Incoherent, unwholesome or desiccated relationship to the marital in-laws. Loss of good luck from the parents (Ketu in 5th-from-4th). Ketu-8 = 5th from 4th, disperses inheritance.

POTUS-pair-37 Watergate 1912-1993Pat Ryan Nixon after campaigning for her husband for decades, was left with no
marital assets (8) after her husband's forced resignation from POTUS-37

However no-barriers Ketu-8 may open the channel to limitless access to assets (both material values and knowledge). If
Mangala-yuti-Rahu-2, penetration of secrets and energy of sudden transformation combined with no-barriers to hidden assets could "not block" a huge fortune.

Ketu in Bhava-9 shatters the conventional doctrinal-philosophical structures. Disinterest or disregard for traditional religious beliefs. Unwholesome doctrines. Suddenly cut-off
from patrons, from fatherhood, from the paradigm of
belief.Apathy toward professorial or priestly privileges.

USA-Congress 1943-Newt Gingrich has run for president numerous times, but his message is too much topically dispersed, lacks focus

Ketu in bhava-10 "disconnected from the social order". Shatters the conventional social order-governance structures. May produce an incoherent or eccentric style of leadership. Suddenly cut off from reliable social legitimacy. Incomplete authorization; dispersed hierarchy; desiccated social regulatory systems.

UK-Prince Consort 1921- Philip Mountbattenalthough stationed at a high rank in British society, has no governing authority and so fulfills the dictum of Ketu-10"disconnected from the social order"

Ketu in Bhava-11 Although
No-contact Ketu does not interfere with income flow, Ketu-11 shatters the conventional economic-network structures. Incoherent or eccentric regulation of the income, unreliable friendships, dispersed community connections. Suddenly cut off from the source of reliable earnings. Disregards traditional marketplace rules.

Ketu in bhava-12 Although
No-contact Ketu does not interfere with clairvoyant spiritual communications and in fact Ketu-12 is an asset to the practicing clairsentient, Ketu-12 does shatter the conventional prayers tructures. Suddenly cut off from the source of reliable sanctuary. Often must wander. May expose the private life to unwanted public scrutiny.
Dusthamsha = beneficial placements for Ketu, but if Ketu has difficult companions Ketu-12 can yield an incoherent imagination, hearing voices or wandering in search of sanctuary.

Total Surrender 1910-1997Mother Teresa of Kolkata dispersed her identity through hospital, hospice, monasteries, convents, distant lands (12). The Mother wrote in her private journals that she felt unrecognized by God. Her prayers went unanswered. She often felt unable to connect with sources of spiritual guidance.

for the person who has the right constitution, grounded in the other bhava, Ketu's gift of freedom to not adhere to the customary pairings in social relationships can create a remarkable liberation from the bondage of conventional perception yielding direct access to other worlds.

The Ketu native can cross the social-category boundaries lines of gender, class, and caste with complete impunity. Those serving a higher purpose can walk through war zones and throw expensive gifts out the window showing utter disregard for both kings and criminals. However for those lacking a higher purpose, there may be
polarizing catalysis from mis-matches of every variety in matters of the portfolio of Ketu's bhava.

One may find that no matter how great one's success in the other departments of one's life, the bhava containing Ketu will be permanently weakened by instability of pairings and poor psychic boundaries .

Behavioral results include excessive detachment leading to neglect in matters of the bhava, unpredictable interactions in relationships due to fluctuating self-doubt , chronicallyunmet emotional needs , and vulnerability to Abuse by the significators of the kendra (1 = self; 4 = parents, 7 = spouse, 10 = boss).

Kendra = "corner" the stabilizing pillars of the kundali. Kendra bhava indicate the major reinforcement relationships which are required to sustain a coherent, sane, and productive individuality in its physical, emotional, mental, and social contexts. (Note that spiritual sustenance is not determined by kendra relationships.)

The social self is anchored in four key relationships: body (1), parents (4), partner (7), and work (10). The reason that Ketu is so crippling in kendra is that Ketu signifies BOTH the presence of a constitutional psychic weakness AND the compulsive denial of that weakness.

Due to denial based in fear of losing control over one's own personality, the native is typically unable to achieve the conscious awareness of one's own weakness which is the prerequisite to making the behavioral changes necessary to correct the problem. Thus the native with Ketu in kendra will tend to remain in bondage to Ketu's unresolved frustration, doubt, and resignation rather than ever be able to fix it.

This unusually sensitive perception of occult truth, while not especially welcome in the lives of those seeking the safest path through life, may prove useful for healers, detectives, conflict managers, and agents of social change.

Ketu is most beneficial in bhava-8. Ketu-8 caused the veils which normally enclose the mysterious secrets of randhasthana-8 to be lifted and blown about, albeit in a somewhat scattered fashion. Ketu-8 offers easy access to occult knowledge.

However Ketu's lord must be quite strong if the native is to make effective use of this hidden treasury. Otherwise, occult insights may be Ketu-pulverized before they can be deployed toward any practical purpose.

Ketu broadcasts a psycho-mental signal of apathetic dissatisfaction with the human condition, specifically matters of the sign and house which He occupies.

No-contact Ketu's job is to dissolve the ego-membrane and its attachments, in order to liberate the spirit. Ideally, after liberation, the spirit will merge with the Divine.

However, if
No-contact Ketuu is held into bondage by a vital, strongly engaged-in-life Lord, He is likely to stayed fixated in a dissatisfied state. Ketu generally acts neither attached nor liberated.

Rather He sits in his house, passive-aggressively insinuating that there's "something wrong here" without making any positive suggestions for how to fix it.

of all the planetary afflictions in the charts, the psycho-spiritual ailments of Ketu are the most difficult to remedy. Secretly, we want Ketu to succeed. We want to be liberated. But Ketu does not control His own destiny - His sign lord (and to some extent His companion planets) control Him.

Therefore, unless Ketu's lord and companions are spiritually directed, Ketu will continue flip-flopping around the universe (Vishnu) completely lacking direction (His head Rahu is far away) but also unable to stop moving.

Traditionally, after 45-48 years, Ketu loses much of its clout. (In practice, I have seen it more effectively at 48+ years.)

It is not worth worrying about
agents of polarizing catalysis Ketu positions such as Lord Sikhi in Kalatra bhava, which damages marriage through disenchantment with the spouse, or Ketu in karmasthana which damages career through confusion and disappointment with public life. The worst effects will cease after 48 years Ketu periods also have less drama after age 48.

The urgency toward severance - to"just get this thing out of my life" (relationship, bodily organ, identity, etc.) -- becomes much less compulsive, and starts to fade into a manageable awareness of one's own psychological patterns. Check for the"beheading narrative"

Tarot Cards: Compare to
Four of Swords, reversed.

The card Four of Swords in the Tarot system of divination, indicates that fighting or arguing (swords) has ceased, at least temporarily, and some type of restful peace is present.

The card Four of Swords in the Tarot, when"reversed" shows restlessness and continuing hostilities when a Cease-fire or Truce which has not genuinely been agreed or accepted.

Often seen when a disagreeable married couple defers divorce to enter marriage counseling; however by this point (according to the card) no foundation of Trust (Truce) is left and the counseling has little benefit.

Ketu has a similar indication in that, karmically, the damage (or liberation) is already accomplished. the native will not re-connect, regardless of there being good" reasons " to do so, at least not in the present lifetime. Ketu is not swayed by reason.

Materially Ketu's separative and apathetic effect is damaging to material attachments such as property ownership, marriage partnership, and career duties.

However spiritually Ketu gives liberation from ego-membrane attachment, and Ketu permits advance upon the path to enlightenment by cutting the bonds of desire (Rahu).

when Ketu is strong at birth, such a when the nodes are rising or yuti
lagnesha, the person will be psychically gifted. Ketu's bhukti will of course dramatically increase Ketu's power to temporarily control the events. Psychic sensitivity is a double-edged sword, as any practicing psychic reader, magician, or healer will tell you :)

As always in matters of deepest happiness, consciousness holds the key.

The psychically sensitive person who appreciates their capabilities and who has educated themselves in one of the perceptive traditions will be able to turn their magical powers on and off at will. This person can enjoy and profit from Ketu periods by choosing to prioritize internal perceptions and not worry overly about their social-material status. They can also take scheduled breaks from sustained intense inner-perception to prevent burn-out.

A similarly sensitive person lacking proper education and the safety net of a like-minded community may suffer a quick burn-out and sink quickly into confused depression for the duration of Ketu's period. This native could experience each Ketu bhukti as a mental health crisis, and look back on Ketu Mahadasha = "seven lost years ".

Extreme effects for the unconscious Ketu victim include consistently"poor choices " caused by a sponge-like absorption of negative suggestions, poverty and homelessness caused by ill-attention to bill-paying, mystifying medical problems caused by confused communication with the physical body, plus addictions and escapist behaviors of all kinds. Be on the lookout for these if you or someone you love seems to be"losing it" in public life.

In another situation, natal Ketu in Scorpionis in randhra sthana could indicate a powerful natural trance-medium personality with breathtaking healing powers, such as a
traditional psychic surgeon. Much depends of course of the condition of Professor Kuja , who rules Vrischika, or Vedic Scorpio. But should Mangala be strong, then Ketu -- who is after all a manifestation of remover of obstacles Shri Ganesha -- could indicate a magnificent healer.

Ketu is a very special graha that requires special handling. With consciousness Ketu is capable of producing transcendent wisdom via 100% neutrality to
the presence of symptoms (in medicine, often called la belle indifference
= the patient is ill but does not care.)

In such a chart we would forecast major spiritual healing accomplishments during any Ketu bhukti, presuming the person possesses the consciousness and the support community which are the sine-qua-non of all successful long-term healing endeavors.

Example: Ketu in Taurus/7. Ketu here gains considerable strength being yuti his Professor Zukra . Venus is himself a super-strong significator for love and marriage through being Vargottamsha (, occupying the same sign in both rashi and navamsha) plus lord of kalatra bhava and of course Zukra is the natural karaka for love.

Each Ketu bhukti arrives, the department of life in which the greatest psychic will occur is love, marriage and counseling relationships. In the vimshottari dasha Ketu bhukti always follows Budha bhukti. In this person's rashi chart Budha bhukti produced a divorce because Budha is divorce-karaka L8 *and* during Budha's bhukti gochara Rahu crossed Budha.

his native chose wisely to use the subsequent Ketu bhukti for intensive psychotherapeutic counseling and relationship awareness growth. Ketu is Ganesha, as remover of obstacles. His elephant head will remove whatever Ketu perceives as an obstacle to spiritual bliss.

In this case, the native 's divorce removed half of this man's income and half of his child-raising time. Clearly Shri Ganesha found those items to be obstacles to the native 's spiritual progress. After some resistance, the native now agrees that"giving to Caesar what is Caesar's " while concentrating his efforts on reflective self-awareness has given excellent fruits.

Beware that with a strong Ketu one is likely to ignore daily concerns with food clothing and shelter, only to discover rather later that these items are quite important to human life.

The dilemma in developing Ketu energy is that Ketu is not a human trait. Ketu disperses the human shell-protection which exposes us to the non-human worlds. Without application of skillful re-compression techiniques, our return to Dhara [earth] after a Ketu adventure can be psychologically unpleasant because it feels so heavy and constricted here, and movement in the time-space is so comparatively s-l-o-w.

Wherever Ketu casts His influence, be aware of the effect of de-materialization and re-materialization. Ketu-process is not science fiction. It occurs every time we lay down to sleep (consciousness de-materialization disconnect) and awaken (conscious re-materialization reconnect).

However when Ketu's influence is particularly pronounced, the nebulizing process seems to afflict waking life as well, and it may feel like an insurmountable challenge sometimes to force things into time-sequence or manage for sustainability. Material life including relationships may seem increasingly unsustainable; and Ketu signals persistently that it is time for a chida * cut-break.

Take special care to meditate during Ketu periods, try to make the dissolving-reconstituting process as conscious as possible, and"set the energy" for soft re-entry.

To understand Ketu, it might help to contemplate the Tarot card The Fool.

Like"The Fool" in the European Tarot tradition, Ketu as a manifestation of Shri Ganesha, gives excellent results in philosophical and mystical endeavors, in meditation, and in spiritual quest.

Ketu shows the path"out" of material entrapment.

Ketu is very liberating.

In material matters themselves - with which all of us inhabiting material bodies are quite legitimately concerned - Ketu means trouble. Ketu is not grounded in the material plane. He floats above. He is dysfunctionally detached from material reality.

If Ketu occupies bhava-7, the marriage partner = concerned with their own pursuits, and rather careless of the native 's welfare. Ketu in yuvati bhava makes the partner in some way dispersed or scattered - whether by incompatibility, cultural misfit, sexual divergence, or mismatch of mental or physical illness.

Obviously Ketu in 7th makes for unsatisfying intimate partnerships. Most people with this condition eventually leave their first marriage. Similar effects are expected should Ketu occupy the seventh navamsha.

Ketu in dhana bhava would provide the traits of withdrawn inaccessibility in the character of the 2nd spouse.

Ketu In dharma bhava, same traits would apply to the father and the guru, as well as the 3rd spouse.

In the drama of the deities, in-coherent (no contact) Ketu's permanent longing for wholeness is a consequence of Rahu's excited refusal to respect conventional boundaries.

As a result of Rahu's wildness, Ketu the
Dragon-Tail Cauda Draconis is forced to gaze with eternally unsatisfied longing at His dear severed partner Rahu the
Dragon-Head Caput Draconis. Ne'er the twain shall meet.

No Boundaries

In-finite (no limits) Ketu represents the vague, uncommitted, disengaged"no-boundary" state. As a result of His singular focus upon the sole source of meaning in His universe which is Rahu, Ketu is characteristically unable to recognize boundaries and divisions between people, things, or ideas.

No Meaning

From Ketu's perspective, everything which lays in the territory between Ketu and Rahu is (1) meaningless and (2) seamless.

Everything in the path from Ketu to Rahu is characterized as having no ultimate value; as distraction or annoyance; as mere impediments to Ketu's reunion with Rahu.

No Distinctions, No Rules

Due to Ketu's inability to recognize conventional connotation-denotation meanings, Ketu displays a lack of discrimination or even comprehension of those distinctions which create physical, emotional, mental, and social meaning in the world.

To Him, it is all one big dust-cloud, all one sandstorm, all one nebulous particle field.

It is all the same and it is All One.

Naturally, at the higher levels of perception, Ketu's 'All One' apprehension of reality can be a tremendous asset to the spiritual seeker.

However, at the lower levels of material survival, Ketu's inability to make value judgments and His disinclination to make choices can result in extreme passivity.

the native shows equal disregard for oneself and those around one.

Ketu is an Equal Opportunity Ignorer.

Dissociative Capabilities

Ketu has few
actual abilities except for His cleaving and dissolving powers.

Particularly in Association with other graha,
Ketu creates a dissociative power = disempowerment, inability
and disability. Ketu is highly spiritualized; He is lost, handicapped, disabled, and disoriented.
due to His foundational disorientation to material form.

A-chronic, Out of Time

In reality, only material values are capable
of improvement (becoming proved, perfected).

Professor Ketu does not recognize any material value, including the meaning or significance of Time. Tenants of an upachaya sthana (3, 6, 10, 11) which can
improve with Time will improve not improve Ketu.

Apprehension without Comprehension

Due to His perceptual handicap of being unable to locate physical or emotional or social boundaries,
Professor Ketu is exceptionally psychic

He possesses extraordinary intuitive sensitivity.

However
Professor Ketu's indoctrination may dissolve other forms of knowing such as perception or comprehension. Ketu is particularly damaging to the decisive, rational forms of intelligence.

12th-from Effects

Like all
papagraha, Professor Ketu's instructions yield the
most comfortable effects in a dusthamsha: 6, 8, or 12.

Ketu in
bhava-6 = uncaring about physical health, unattached to animosity, uninterested in acquisition of debt or increase of poverty. Disempowers the threat of radical
imbalance-seeking-a-remedy.

Ketu in 8 = ambivalent or detached from the conditions of death. Likely to die in a coma or other numbed state, unconscious or barely conscious of the physical dimension of the transition. Disempowers the threat of violent death.

Ketu in 12 = apathetic about the clairsentient pathways and the spirits who communicate along those pathways. May be perfectly clairvoyant but unconcerned to share the knowledge gained from intuition and dreams. Disengaged from the formal practice of meditation. (Which ironically can produce some brilliant meditations. This native can meditate in a crowded subway.) Disempowers the threat of"reverse osmosis " -- forced return to the astral plane.

Ketu has an especially strong affiliation with bhava-12, the house of dissolution of Identity. Ketu will give a" 12-from" effect wherever He is found in the nativity.

To those with eyes to see, Ketu is doing us a huge favor. No matter how painful the separations and losses caused by Ketu, the native who holds a clear conviction of the value of spiritual enlightenment will understand and appreciate what is going on.

the native with sufficient consciousness will heed Ketu's clarion call to"witness " rather than resist the removal of obstacles .

In the end, Shri Ganesha will be praised as the great leader of the troops (Gana) who are marching toward the bliss of reunion with the Divine.

To those with deep material, emotional, or mental attachments, Ketu is disruptive, invasive, destructive, and damaging. Ketu causes one with the lower consciousness bondage to cry in despair,"why me? why was my life attachment taken from me?"

The answer is that this attachment was, in Shri Ketu's view, creating an obstacle to spiritual progress.

However that answer may not be acceptable to one who continues to externalize perception and to insist that the true self is defined in terms of material possessions, human relationships, or systems of belief.

Indeed the true self can only be defined in terms of one's relationship to the Divine. When all the attachments are stripped off, one will see the"enlightened" or"unburdened" truth that the nature of that truest most core relationship is an actual"Identity" which is no longer polarized. In other words, Self and God are, in their deepest true nature, absolutely One and the Same.

This is the realization toward which Shri Ketu is pushing, with His big strong elephant head.

Still, many are still deep in sleep, craving only sensual attachment ... and for those many, holding"witness " to the dream is quite unlikely. For them, Shri Ketu is a bitter enemy of possessiveness, completion,"wholeness "and"success ".

One with strong ego-membrane attachments, including"negative"attachments such as victimization, catastrophic loss, poverty, or death; as well as "positive"attachments such as wealth, title, religion, children, siblings, spouse, or life, will find that Ketu is an"equal opportunity destroyer."

To those who might have an inkling of what Ketu is trying to accomplish, the apparently" malefic" powers of Ketu destructive, separative, and embarrassing effects may be understood to be offering the greatest spiritual help available to humans. (Even greater than the service offered by Ketu's malefic competitor, Shani!)

Ketu does not care about whether the content of an attachment is socially approved or disapproved, moral or immoral, valuable or worthless. If it is an attachment, Ketu will negotiate to have it severed.

(Remember the myth of Rahu-Ketu. By force of Vishnu's razor-sharp discus, Ketu gets instantly, brutally severed from the desire-mouth of Rahu.)

If Ketu, in His wisdom, determines that any relationship is creating an obstacle to the development of the consciousness which is necessary to permit the native to advance on the path of spiritual re-unification with the Divine, that relationship will be severed.

If only one component of that relationship is compulsive or damagingly habitual or hiding the native 's true feelings from oneself or otherwise problematic for consciousness, Ketu will take action - that particular obstacle-element of the relationship will be cut off. But the relationship itself, or its social shell, will remain.

Ketu in bhava-5 may indicate a Genius for Teaching Difficult Children. Here may be found not only a parent who must raise a difficult child, but also a gifted teacher of hypersensitive, out-of-orbit, anti-social, pre-criminal, or other "behavioral disorder" children.

Often, one has a special blessing of "witness " consciousness which allows one to
resist the impulse to react negatively
to threatening or inappropriate behavior from children.

Free from habitual
punitive reaction, the children suffering social adaption difficulties may feel
more safe and accepted , and even quite adversarial children may
learn and begin to thrive.

With Ketu in putra bhava, one's
failure to produce "successful" children may bring wisdom that can greatly advance the spiritual life.

If Ketu is well-situated, Ketu periods may bring all the benefits associated with the Ketu-occupied bhava. For example, Ketu in dhana-sthana may bring extraordinary wealth - but the native will not be particularly attached to it!

Contemptuous rejection of Other, cycling back to frustrated union, and rejection again

Unconscious or barely conscious projection of negative fantasies upon others

Benefits:

Ketu periods are exceptionally Auspicious for personal psychotherapy , but may not yield much progress in relationship counseling. A focus on"abandonment"and" separation" issues will be fruitful.

If Ketu is well-positioned and the native knows their true capabilities, there can be professional and personal advancement through
careful management of power vacuums and unusual circumstances. Key to success is
neutral humility paired with sensitive awareness of other's desires.

(Not self-effacing or other false humility, but true neutrality and authentic skillful ability to serve other's interests, such as to help an organization reach its goals.)

Native is exceptionally absorptive; other people' s negative projections easily find him, and stick to him

Deep neediness, relies on others to provide
one's identity

Inability to accept personal responsibility

Victim state

Feels that homelessness, rootlessness, acts of desperation are the result of having been abandoned by those s/he once trusted

Asks for shelter from government, community, or family - but rejects services, fears and distrusts connection, needs to wander

rapped in ego-membrane reaction of toxic anxiety

Divorce as a lower-level reactive fear bondage:

Ketu is a karaka for divorce of the" I-give-up" type.

However, true to the myth of Rahu-Ketu, divorce under Ketu means that the native s may physically separate from each other but they remain psychically connected in a perpetual cycle of victimization, blaming and distrust.

The brutal act of separation, abandonment, and rejection is described vividly in the myth of Rahu-Ketu.

Ketu = trauma. Look for trauma in the signification of Professor Ketu's bhava and the character of His lord, as well as in any co-tenants who share a house with Ketu. Wherever the native shall suffer unbearable separations, with a great but unachievable longing for consummation or reunion, there is Ketu.

Ketu is a karaka for ex-communication, divorce, being shunned, ostracized, or invalidated.

Ketu's trauma is not likely
to heal in the sense that material reunion will not be fully accomplished in this lifetime. However the emotional pain can be neutralized by deep acceptance and forgiveness.

Each new Ketu bhukti will re-stimulate the core trauma of separation, rejection, abandonment, and loss of wholeness. Each Ketu bhukti offers and opportunity to practice neutrality and forgiveness.

Ketu's periods increase the perceptual intensity of suspicion and distrust. the native can see one's Other half, partner, reflection, key to wholeness - but by some force of the universe, access to this wholeness is being withheld. One suspects that the desires of the Other are destroying the relationship.

Severely Reactive: Paranoid delusion

At the lowest levels, paranoid delusion and a feeling of social invisibility can give very undesirable mental results.

At the lower levels of consciousness, Ketu's negative perceptions of invalidation are chronic. the native slips into varying degrees of suspicious distrust of the motives of the Other. It is possible to enter a state of psycho-emotional despair , considering how hopeless is the prospect of the Other ever changing their nature. Yearning for connectedness but believing that a deep and permanent bond is impossible. It is easy to become trapped in this state of bondage to an unattainable, but always perceivable, object of one's desire.

Proactive: Distrust of reactive delusion

At the higher levels of stabilized consciousness , suspicion and distrust of the motives of Other can be a very good thing!

Nothing is more spiritually healthy than a vigorous distrust of the mind's propensity to generate delusions .

Manas, the mind, is nothing but a big delusion machine! All perceptual reality is a product of subconscious projection.

Ketu, a node of the Moon, turns a reflective mirror onto The inner workings of Manas. Ketu periods are premium opportunities to watch the illusion-generating machine in action!

the native who is secure in this perceptual awareness will enjoy significant spiritual and philosophical benefits from Ketu periods. This native will seize the opportunity to enter psychotherapy, pursue reflective meditation, read spiritual books, and otherwise cultivate increased awareness of one's own projection behaviors.

Conscious Relationships during Ketu periods

During Ketu periods, the native may find oneself cast in peculiar relationships vis-à-vis various power-hungry authorities or other strong Rahu-type personalities . In an environment surging with constant disruptions and ambitious (but usually illicit) desires, the native retains his calm.

In Troubled interpersonal relationships , the Ketu native will have deep insights into the psychopathology of the Other, but the native will also lack ability to intervene or otherwise alter the Other's behavior.

For the conscious native, Ketu period is a time of detached awareness, based on healthy suspicion of one's own compulsive projections.

One realizes that behaviors attributed to outside agents Are in fact nothing but reactive projections of one's own subconscious.

his final Ketu-driven result is deeply calming. Spreading one's own calm awareness of trauma reactions and various ego-membrane collisions in relationships of home, workplace, and community, will enhance leadership capabilities and stabilize the local environment.

As a result of Accumulated experience stored in the subconscious , the native fundamentally expects that the matters of Ketu's domain will be unreliable, and eventually disconnect. Ketu's source is deep in the subconscious, rooted in human reptile-brain fear of abandonment.

This deep and terrible fear of abandonment affects all human births, and therefore Ketu must occupy some domain in each human birth.

Ketu's house contains the site of humility/humiliation, where the native longs for connection and yet is repeatedly disconnected from the object of their desire.

These expectations typically yield the real world psycho-emotional experiences of deep-seated anxiety regarding abandonment, social or emotional rejection, terrible uncertainty about the feelings and plans of the beloved, and parental/spousal/collegial unresponsiveness or neglect

All disabilities caused by Ketu can be improved through conscious awareness of the subconscious predisposition to expect disconnection, leading to a lifetime of disappointment and chronic mistruSaint

While Shri Ketu does have An essential lesson to teach regarding impermanence , it is not necessary for the native to suffer a lifetime of compulsive, subconsciously impelled rejection of connection and trust in matters of Ketu's domain.

It is very difficult to manage Rahu's obsessive-compulsive desires. However, it is not so hard to manage Ketu. Luckily the reptile brain does not have to dominate human life.

Calm awareness of one's habitual rejection of completeness will go a long way toward resolving the malefic effects of Shri Ketu. The area of most dramatic rejection will be Ketu's birth domain (see table of Ketu in Houses, below).

That same calm awareness can transform Shri Ketu's fearful effects into an overall positive spiritual experience of appreciation of impermanence. These two phenomena are really two sides of the same coin. The difference is that one is physically and
electro-magnetic emotionally terrifying and one is sweetly wise.

Later in life, comes Ketu's spiritual wisdom and eventually amusement!

Spiritually, expect the benefits of higher
consciousness provided by dissolution of the crude
formal structures which allows thinking out of the
box

Conscious management will give
comfortable and pleasing results . However, Ketu's terror runs deep and progress will be incremental over a lifetime. Ketu's fears will not be fully understood by the native until the native 's age of 48 years, which is the age of maturity for Ketu.

Even after the potential Ketu is particularly pernicious in the four kendra, where security and confidence are needed to stabilize material life. As a point of practical advice:

Best Practice when managing one's own position of Ketu is to have
high spiritual expectations paired with low material expectations and practice conscious ego-membrane detachment in
regard to matters of the bhava wherein Ketu resides.

Ketu's personal story tells it all. There He was, the innocent tail of Rahu the Serpent God, sitting at the Deity Banquet, minding His own business. Ketu doesn't have an ego-membrane - He's a tail. He's present, but absolutely soundless and uninvolved.

Shri Ketu is as innocent and quiet as a tail can be, completely tranquil and neutral in the scene, when Rahu the Rage of Desire decides to make His big ego-membrane ploy. Rahu has snuck into the divine banquet illicitly, and He wants a sip of that divine immortal Amrit, the exclusive private drink of the Gods. He has an intense desire for it. Rahu will get a drink.

He will.

The chalice of Amrit is being passed around this gathering of Gods... Rahu slips into position to receive the next drink. Rahu succeeds! However at the very moment when the first drop of Amrit touches Rahu's lips - guaranteeing Rahu a lifespan of the Gods -- Shri Vishnu sees illicit Rahu! Vishnu is enraged at this slimy impostor and throws His magical discus at Rahu, slicing Rahu in half.

With a terrible shriek, the head of Rahu's severed body flies in one cosmic direction, and the tail of Rahu's body flies off the opposite way.

Rahu's severed tail-half is now called Ketu.

Rahu the Naga Head retains all His passion-driven intention and desire.

Thus Rahu remains a perpetual troublemaker. Ketu however has no sense of purpose or goal. Ketu forever languishes in memory of His once-whole Self. Ketu pines for unification with His lost Other.

Ketu is bereft, abandoned, hopeless, lost, unrequited - and locked into an orbit wherein He can see His other half Rahu, but never rejoin with Him.

The solution to Ketu troubles is always a spiritual solution: to intentionally focus the heart away from Rahu's passions, toward the more eternal and reliable realm of the legitimate gods. Developing committed awareness to that which does not change, which cannot be lost, from which one can never be separated - the Divine within - will resolve all of Ketu's suffering.

Graha which may cast graha drishti upon Ketu will especially aid the native in creating this positive intention . Ketu cannot have intention of His own. (Ketu casts no drishti Himself.) Ketu is the victim of a horrible trauma. Ketu needs help to focus outside Himself and His sorrowful longing for union with the Other.

Ketu's job is ultimately to remove obstacles which prevent the native from advancing along the spiritual path. His purpose is to enforce"disconnection" from Rahu the Impostor's passions so that one may enjoy the lasting peace of communion with the Divine. Ketu leads the native toward realization that grounding oneself in Divine Love rather than in the slippery realm of human passion is the only solution.

However Ketu's agenda can create a painful and exhausting path. Ketu evokes from the subconscious a tremendous - almost unbearable - dissatisfaction with human relationships, with wealth, power or pleasure-causing substances, with all the sensual delights and privileges on Earth. Ketu causes one to wander in hopeless desperation, searching for fulfillment.

There is only one connection which will meet Ketu's deep and aching need. However, things have to be karmically somewhat rigorous, in order for Ketu to do His job fully.

If Ketu's lord is favorable, and both Kuja and Shani also have dignity , after a period of acute suffering and loss, the path of Shri Ganesha will open. Obstacles to union with material pleasures - including spouse, children, social position, food and drink - will be recognized as the secret blessing they really are. Observing that for each material pleasure taken away, that space in his life becomes filled with the radiant love of Divine healing, the native may become extremely happy in a simple, materially unencumbered existence.

If Ketu's
ruler presents a challenge to craft a balanced life and too many benefics distract
one with temporary pleasures, there may be recurring
pattern of victim's rage and
grief without long-term resolution, especially during Ketu periods, and especially regarding the relationship with person and environment signified by Ketu's house and lord.

Ketu shows where the native is the most bewildered and confused. Something that evades them, can't quite put their finger on it, seems foggy and they can't quite hold onto a stable understanding of it.

Psychically, this is a weak patch in the aura, the protective energy shield of positive energy which surrounds each spirit in a body. For humans the aura is somewhat egg-shaped, broader at the bottom where it connects to earth energy, rather narrower at the top where it connects to divine energy.

Animals do have auras, but humans have much stronger, more complex, and"brighter"auras than other earthly forms. The more divine energy that is connected to and nourishing a human aura, the"brighter" the person looks psychically.

The first physical evidence of a bright aura is a"bright" smile. Even in cultures where smiling is not necessary to convince people of your goodness, the natural brain reaction to happiness and inner peace is in fact to smile. Whether its and important cultural gesture or not, smiling is always the sign of happiness in the human - it never signifies anything else.

In English we often refer to people having"bright" qualities such as intelligence, charisma, enthusiasm, verve, good humor,
et-cetera. These qualities are seen with the intuitive third eye
of the indigo ray as bright patches in the aura.

Ketu controls the disconnect-function in the ego. Ketu is in charge of the grey patches of foggy uncertainty, apathy, or confusion which show where the ego-membrane in this life is rather disinterested, yet for karmic reasons obliged to continue to connect by a thread (literally).

Grey is of course the colors of elephant, and Shri Ganesha is the elephant-headed god. Remover of obstacles, Shri Ketu is like a bulldozer plowing away all unnecessary distractions from our spiritual path.

That's why results of Ketu are generally
disappointing or apathetic materially = not acquisitive or
accumulative. Yet the same identical results may be apprehended as
beneficial spiritually = liberated from junk and free to pursue the Divine
Realization via a clear and unimpeded path. Ketu is the Great Vacuum
Clearner.

Looking back on obstacles which Shri Ketu has removed one feels
generally grateful for the peace and deep sense of freedom experienced at the end of a karmic cycle. Job well done, and
rejoicing in the closure. Accepting and happy to be finished with it!

However when Ketu is hampered by the karmic effects of a compromised Moon or when Ketu's planetary lord is
less benevolent, Ketu can leave the person lingering in the limbo between connect and disconnect.

the native will find him/herself still surrounded by the influences of Ketu's house and sign, yet unable to successfully interact with those influences. In re: the matters of Ketu's sign and house, the native will experience confusion, indecision, unclarity, while often developing some type of unsavory coping mechanism for the social/physical disability that the disconnect causes.

Ketu effects include ego-compensation behaviors of contempt or arrogance in some cases, various victim attitudes and passive-aggressive blaming others.

The general pattern of a dysfunctional Ketu is always a lack of energy and focus available to address the matter at hand. Yet the native remains, foggily and often passive-aggressively, engaged with it - often believing that someone else is causing the issue or that forces outside himself are at work. Ketu can be highly intuitive but in lower consciousness will tend toward superstition because the native passive-aggressively attributes his problems to the evil intentions, failures, or incompetence of others.

As a manifestation of Shri Ganesha, the beloved remover of obstacles, how can we understand Ketu's cruelty as beneficial?

Ketu gives remarkable benefits through disconnection and detachment. Cutting one's losses, abandoning hopeless projects, leaving unsuitable relationships, surrender before annihilation,
et-cetera. Similar to radical surgery - a painful and invasive process which when successful can restore health and extend life. It is always cruel but provides a great relief. Looking back, it will be seen as a necessary and beneficial loss.

Years ago my lovely neighbor, the devoted mother of small children, developed a life-threatening cancer. Without stopping to consider gentler alternatives, she agreed to radical surgery. She said,"I just want it Out of me."

I was aghast; I believed that she should try some natural cures. What if the radical surgery caused an infection that she could not ward off in her weakened state? Immediately after surgery she was terribly ill and too weak to mother her children; I feared the worst. However she did recover, and eventually (months later) regained her full health.

Afterwards she told me:"cutting out that disease felt so good, even though the side effects were horrible I knew right away that this terribly painful and invasive surgery was exactly the right thing."

Ketu is associated with radically surgeries of my neighbor's type, divorces / disconnections / removals that occur only when every other option has been exhausted, and"final solutions " in all forms.

Depending on Ketu's kshetra, and also the disposition of Chandra AND Ketu's lord -- one might experience separation via the death of a terminally ill family member or being fired from an enslaving job.

After the pain of loss subsides, one confirms this loss to have been a spiritual gain.

The most important thing to understand about the lunar nodes Rahu and Ketu is that they do not own any houses, and they do not own any signs. Rather, Rahu-Ketu function as magnifiers and distorters of the their bhava and
rashi ruler s. Rahu-Ketu also amplify any co-tenant Graha within their house.

Ketu contributes frustration and denial wherever he goes in the normal realms of life. Only at the highest levels of awareness is Ketu really an asset.

When Ketu becomes the mahadasha-pati or bhukti-pat, His Vimshottariperiods will give the results of Ketu's lord and to a large extent also the results of His co-occupants. The quality of experience during Ketu periods is typically a disoriented, confused, and stagnant version of the planets He magnifies.

However under good circumstances Ketu's power of disenchantmentcan also break the spell of material attractions, and show a direct route to enlightenment.

Producing as He does the irresolvable conflict between Saturn/social law and order versus Mars/personal independence, Ketu induces a state of deep frustration and repressed anger which alienates the individual from the matters of the house which Ketu occupies. the native feels that, in matter's of Ketu's house and its lord, an irresistible force is trying to budge an immovable object. The result is Traction and deep alienated frustration.

Furthermore Ketu complicates the expression of his lord and co-occupying planets.

Ketu and a strong Zukra , the native will have not only the excesses of
treasury , beauty, prestige, and addiction that this Zukra would have brought independently. Ketu adds a surly, denying, frustrated to Zukra's effects which result in addiction to food, drugs, sex, and elegant company while plunging the individual into great denial about his true behavior.

One will feel that it's not my problem , or that others do not understandme, or that someone else is obviously to blame for the excess. (Since Ketu occupies 7 in this example that someone else is certainly the spouse!) The central complication of any planet ruling or conjuncting Ketu is that the native feels disconnected from his own reality, will not own up to his own actions, and typically seeks to blame the problems that this dishonesty and detachment will cause, onto the Other who is represented by that house. (For example, the Other of bhava-10 is the boss, the Other of bhava-4 is the mother.)

The sign aspect (rashi drishti) of Ketu can be damaging, because Ketu can radiate frustration, stagnation, confusion, and discontent. However in the right company the aspect of Ketu can enhance the values of the house which receives His ray. Of course whenever Ketu has company in His house, He amplifies that companion and carries that companion graha's energy along on all His aspects.

Zukra will independently drishti all those three Chara signs, plus Zukra will send His own full planetary aspects to lagna/Vrischika.

Because Ketu is a shadow without his own independent identity, His rashi aspects to houses 9, 12, and 3 - carry along Zukra's energy too.

The luxurious but excessively indulgent effect of Zukra is also subtly carried into the 9th house of religion (where it is quite
uncomfortable because Zukra is teacher of the demons) as well as 12th (which Zukra already owns, this is the house of extramarital affairs.

But Ketu may make the native blind (or unsure whether these are happening) and 3rd - the house of small-group associations such as meetings and dinner parties (this native was a highly placed executive who enjoyed very luxurious corporate meetings and gave lovely small parties).

Ketu's sign aspects combined with Zukra's full aspect on the lagna result in destruction of religion, extramarital affairs of the spouse, and lavish corporate entertainments - none of which is very satisfying to the native, because Ketu whilst amplifying Zukra is rather permanently discontent.

If Ketu is alone in his house He will cast rashi drishti and give the results of his lord only. In this case the condition of his lord determines the value of Ketu's three sign aspects. Where the lord is dignified (e.g., in the sign of a friend, or exalted, and in a non-dushthamsha house) Ketu's aspects may induce meditative awareness, the scientist's objective detachment, and other positive forms of non-violent approach toward conflict and profound acceptance of the greater law.

Most of the time, Ketu is far too psychic to be comfortable in the mundane - no matter how luxurious his worldly life.

Ketu is Rahu's diametrically opposite force. Rahu is permissive and expansive like Venus and Jupiter, but Ketu is restrictive and like Shani and Mars. Whereas Rahu is passionate and desirous, Ketu is detached and withdrawn.

Bhava, degree, sign, aspects, and other characteristics of Ketu show psychic imagery that has already been manifested by Rahu,. Under Ketu's influence the matter concerned is finished; we have stopped desiring and now wish to separate that matter from ourselves. Wherever Ketu is, there the person is detached, impassionate, stopped, and uninvolved with the development of those matters. Ketu is a manifestation of Shri Ganesha, the elephant-headed god who is the somber, plodding Remover of Obstacles..

Ketu is excellent for meditation and withdrawal from the world of the senses but understandably Ketu's influence damages any attempt at acquisitions. Ketu will"destroy" marriage in the 7th house because he doesn't really care enough to keep the fires of affection burning. Ketu gives a spouse but not affection toward the spouse; not passion.

Maybe he thinks he should care; maybe his society thinks he should care; but Ketu in 7th proves he really doesn't feel the passion. Often this position is bewildered and frustrated.

Ketu will make the person quite unconcerned about
financial well-being when he occupies the 2nd or 11th houses. Financial affairs are blocked in some way, beyond personal control. That doesn't mean a person with Ketu in 2 or 11 will be poor. If the house lord is in good condition, that person with Ketu in 2 or 11 might have much money at his disposal. But he will not care about investing the money, and he will not have permission to change or control it. He will not take steps to protect money, develop his wealth, or show much attachment to it. Often this position is the spouse or child of a
financially privileged person, who has access to considerable funds but lacks passion for The
treasury .

Ironically, because Ketu's disengaged energy-state has no resistance to money, native with Ketu in a money position (2, 5, 9, 11) could be remarkably
financially privileged as a result of past-life labors. Much poverty is caused by resistance to wealth! However whether rich or poor, he will be neutral on the subject of acquiring and developing wealth. Like the native with Ketu in 7, s/he will accept the presence of a spouse as a social given - but express little truly personal interest in marital development.

Similarly, Ketu in 5th house of children gives detachment toward one's children. As with money for Ketu in 2/11, Ketu in 5 or 9 can produce numerous children provided Guru's aspects are fertile. However the parent with Ketu in putra bhava will be emotionally detached from his offspring - and often frustrated with them.

The eldest child may be adopted, from inside or outside the Ketu parent's family. Or, the first child may have some birth condition which detaches the child from the parent's home, such as a health problem, needing special education, or something else that creates an emotional distance.

Ketu is spectacularly helpful for all matters of meditation and spiritual ascendance. Be sure to visit a temple of Ganesha to enhance your transcendent spiritual awareness. However, if you are wanting to enhance your bank account go see Lakshmi; or to acquire academic credentials see Saraswati!

Shri Ganesha's portfolio is the profound cosmic awareness born of the most intractable inner conflicts. Shri Ganesha is not about acquiring, but rather about liberation through transcendence.

Ketu in upachaya bhava = 3, 6, 10, 11

improves over time.

There is early-life psychic fragility due to self-doubt in matters of the bhava.

Potential for Abuse from disrespectful, disregarding, abandoning, ambiguous or mentally-ill behavior of

Ketu + Zukra or Ketu + yuvatipathi-7 = a similar effect to the force of graha in bhava-6 = 12th-from yuvati-bhava-7.

yuvatipathi-7 = Contracts and Agreements

Ketu + yuvatipathi-7 = apathy toward committing to a person, a contract, a promise, a vow. Ketu + yuvatipathi-7 may feel that unseen winds of dissolution and dispersal erode the promise and result in abandonment of the contract. Ketu periods may signal the timing of dissolution of an agreement.

Graha in bhava-6 possess agency of loss of contract, loss of balance, loss of partnership, loss of mutual benefit and inability to achieve mutual understanding. Blaming and accusations emerge from rogabhava.

Ketu + yuvatipathi-7 or Ketu + Zukra combined with the presence of graha in bhava-6 may predict a pattern of unsatisfying partnerships.

One may perceive oneself as being competent to craft agreements and under force of Zukra-or-yuvatipathi-7 one may be involved in continuous attempts to make deals and balanced alliances.

However, the overall result when a Ketu + alliance karaka (Zukra or yuvatipathi-7 ) combines with the gravitational pull of graha in bhava-6 more likely quixotic dreaming about the ineffable and unobtainable partner (Ketu) along with psychological resistance to equality in partnership (6) and attraction to unusual or unbalanced partners (Ketu + Zukra). Such a nativity may try and try and try again to form enduring partnerships yet Ketu's tendency to pulverize leaves only dust in the wake.

"How does an emptiness appear to a mind, when it ascertains an emptiness?

If one has a mistaken view of an emptiness, equating it with a vacuity which is a nothingness, this is not the ascertainment of an emptiness.

Or, even if one has developed a proper understanding of an emptiness as merely a lack of inherent existence, still, when the vacuity which is a lack of inherent existence appears, one may subsequently lose sight of the original understanding.

This vacuity then becomes a mere nothingness with the original understanding of the negation of inherent existence being lost completely.

Therefore, this is not the ascertainment of an emptiness either.

Also, even if the meaning of an emptiness has been ascertained, but the thought, 'This is an emptiness,' appears, then one is
apprehending the existence of an emptiness which is a positive thing.

Therefore, that consciousness then becomes a conventional valid cogniser and not the ascertainment of an emptiness.

The Condensed Perfection of Wisdom Sutra says, 'Even if a Bodhisattva realises,"These aggregates are empty," he is acting on signs of conventionalities and does not have faith in the state of non-production.'

Further, 'an emptiness' is a negative [an absence] which must be ascertained through the mere elimination of the object of negation, that is, inherent existence.

Negatives are of two types:

Affirming negatives in which some other positive phenomenon is implied in place of the object of negation,

And non-affirming negatives in which no other positive phenomenon is implied in place of the object of negation.

An emptiness is an instance of the latter; therefore, a consciousness cognising an emptiness necessarily ascertains the mere negative or absence of the object of negation.

What appears to the mind is a clear vacuity accompanied by the mere thought, 'These concrete things as they now appear to our minds do not exist at all.'

The mere lack of inherent existence or mere truthlessness which is the referent object of this consciousness is an emptiness; therefore, such a mind ascertains an emptiness."

FREE FROM FIXED MIND

Ani Pema Chodron.

Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change, p. 18

"Rather than living a life of resistance and trying to disprove our basic situation of impermanence and change, we could contact the fundamental ambiguity and welcome it.

We don't like to think of ourselves as fixed and unchanging, but emotionally we're very invested in it.